3.5 stars- Cute Romantic Comedy

Almost a Bride played out much like a romantic comedy movie, an ode to the hero’s occupation as a screenwriter. It was a cute standalone story with an upbeat vibe. The writing was detailed with a steady pace and flowing dialogue. The setting in the second book of the Destination Love series made this a bit more unique. The main character- Annie- is originally from South Africa. Therefore, a good portion of the book takes place in that location. After a troubling break-up, Annie and her friends plan a girls’ vacation to an island resort where the bulk of the story is set. The descriptive writing made this aspect wonderful in many ways. The location came alive with sights, scents, and sounds vividly described. However, the descriptions occasionally slowed the pace of the story. These moments didn’t last long, but did keep me from getting swept away.

The plotline is fun, despite it being ripe with cliché. Perhaps the plot devices and humor would strike me as less original if the author hadn’t acknowledged the silliness of the situations through the dialogue and Annie’s thoughts. As it was, Chris’s and Annie’s humor and responses to the bizarre occurrences made it truly enjoyable. While the story did stray a little too far into the far-fetched territory for me to find humorous at times, it never discouraged me from reading. The characters themselves were also interesting. Although I didn’t love her at first, Annie showed a lot of growth which seems rare in contemporary romance these days. I liked reading about her character’s progression, and was rooting for her to find her HEA by the end. I thought Chris had a good amount of depth too, and appreciated that the ending gave him a chance to develop more as a character. I wish we saw them together as a couple longer, but I understood why the author chose not to focus on that part of their relationship. Overall, I enjoyed watching their personal lives and relationship blossom. I think this is a nice read for fans of lighter romances who also want their characters to have significant transformation throughout the story.

* Alpha Book Club provided with eARC. The publisher and author had no influence over this review*

I have not read the first book in the Destination Love series, but this did not affect my reading of Almost A Bride.

This is also my first Jo Watson book I have read, and I will be going back to read more.

Almost A Bride is a quirky, fun book about finding love when you least expect it. I wasn't such a fan of Annie at first, she did grate on me a little bit, but that was only at first. Once I really got into the book I thought she was pretty darn adorable, and Chris was just great from the get go.

There were times Annie's ex made me feel violent. Like I wanted to stab him in the eyes with a letter opener violent. He was such a d!ck and I did not find one thing at all likable about him.

Almost A Bride is sweet and heartfelt and at times laugh out loud funny, so if you are are after a read that is a little bit different, give it a go.

In just one day, Annie Anderson's life turned sideways and then completely upside down when she comes home early, finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman. If that wasn't sad enough, she ends up losing her new job on the first day. And yet it gets worse. When she goes away for a much needed excursion to a fabulous island with her friends, who shows up there but the cheating ex and his gorgeous arm candy.

As bad as Annie's day from hell was, it was related in such a way that I couldn't stop laughing. While my heart broke for her, Annie's story is so cleverly written that I also found the humor in the situation. The escapades during the vacation were even more outrageous but so vividly described I felt I was witnessing everything firsthand. Even Annie's introduction to Chris-the-writer-turned-fake-fiancé was memorable.

I'm not much for reading romantic comedy but there was something about the premise of this story that grabbed my attention and made me go for it. I am so glad I did because this is truly a diamond in the rough. It's a page turner and you'll fall in love with Annie, her motley crew of devoted friends and her fake fiancé Chris. This is a wonderful story filled with heartache, humor and wisdom, so well written that I'm now hooked to this series and the new-to-me author. I'm definitely going back and reading the first book and all that come after this one. This was outstanding.

About six months ago, I was asked if I would like to participate in the blog tour for Jo Watson's romance novel Burning Moon (Destination Love, #1). Saying yes was one of the best book decisions I've ever made because it introduced me to Jo Watson's brilliant writing and witty humor. I loved every moment of reading Burning Moon, and when the option to be part of the blog tour for Almost a Bride (Destination Love, #2) came about, I said yes without hesitation.

Almost a Bride follows Annie as she tries to mend the heart her cheating ex-boyfriend broke. When her ex-boyfriend, Trevv, and his new girlfriend show up at the same resort Annie's vacationing at, she's forced to take desperate measures to show she's happily moved on. Annie introduces them to her new fake-boyfriend, a man she's just met. Luckily for Annie, Chris is looking for some writing inspiration and is willing to join the charade. The longer Annie and Chris play boyfriend and girlfriend, the closer the more their relationship starts to feel less fake and more real.

Once again, Jo Watson has crafted a hilariously heartwarming romance. I love how she's able to take a character from heartbreak and bring them full circle through self-discovery. Her characters may be hurt, but they're not down for the count. They always find their true selves and the things in life they're made for. It's so refreshing!

I fell in love with Annie Anne the minute I began reading her story. She was so awesome, and I identified with her brokenhearted madness. (I kind of feel like the author modeled her after me in my early 20's, but I probably shouldn't be admitting that!) I mean, who hasn't played up their lives in front of an ex? Annie pulled off what we all wish we could have at some point in our lives.

Chris was the perfect guy for Annie to meet. He was sexy in a cute, goofy way. I loved the instant connection and joking nature Annie and Chris had. It made their quick decent into love feel possible. They were so perfect together, and the chemistry between them was palpable. Every minute of their romance was adorable.

I probably shouldn't love the villains in this story, but were just too dang perfect. Trevv and Tess were something else. Seriously, I laughed so hard at their antics.

If you love contemporary romances and haven't yet met Jo Watson's novels, you're missing out. She's quickly become one of my favorite contemporary romance writers. I highly recommend both Burning Moon and Almost a Bride.

I was so excited when I got a copy of Almost a Bride early . I dived into this story as soon as I possible could and It was just amazing !! I loved Almost a Bride.

In this book we follow Annie and to say that Annie is have a rough time in the beginning of this book would be an understatement. She goes to the home that she shares with her boyfriend who she believes will be proposing soon, to find him cheating on her and then gets arrested because of the same scumbag boyfriend well now he is an ex boyfriend lol , honestly I wanted to hug Annie and hit her ex lol . Some time has passed and Annie is treating her self on to a vacation and guess who is also at the resort ? Her ex and his new girlfriends. However Chris someone Annie meets at this resort decides to help Annie out and pretend to be her hot Australian boyfriend that she had once once made up just to spite her ex and this where the store takes of from. Annie and Chris were wonderful together watching there relationship evolve over the course this book was just wonderful ,even though there were supposed to be in a fake relationship you could definitely tell that things started to get real very fast . Jo Watson writes such a fun ,sexy , enchanting romance in this story. There was never a dull moment in this book ,from page one I was hooked and this story did not let me go until I got to the very last word .

With a fun, sexy romance , a fantastic cast of characters and a beautiful vacation setting Jo Watson creates an excellent story with Almost a Bride . I smiled , I laughed and I swooned while reading this book . I cannot wait to read Jo Watson next book I know its going to be amazing

I liked this book, but I haven't read any of the others so found the side characters a little confusing.